[mythtv-users] Matrox, TV-Out and XVideo

[Joe Votour]

I can't speak too much on the G550, but I know that
the G400 works fairly well.  The only disadvantage of
it is that it is a real pain to configure, since you
have to use the framebuffer console.

A friend of mine lent me his GeForce4 440MX (Gainward
600-8X TV, and the binary nVidia driver works great! 
So much that I'll probably buy one.  I do have one
issue though, and that is that the S-Video out when
booting the machine is in black and white with my
S-Video cable.  Once X starts, the colors are fine. 
Anybody know why this is?

As for the Leadtek, it will work with bttv, but, two
caveats:
1. You have to specify the tuner type manually (unless
you're using a PAL tuner)
2. It does not support btaudio.

Not being able to use XVideo though will increase your
CPU load, how much, I don't know, since the cards that
I've used all have XVideo.  The software XVideo in
combination with the high load you're going to capture
at (with the software card) might be too much to
handle though.

-- Joe

--- cythraul at videotron.ca wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I've been reading a lot of information lately as I'm
> in the process of 
> deciding what hardware I will be using starting with
> this Compaq EVO SFF I 
> just obtained for reeeeal cheap.
> 
> Since this hardware is P4 based, CPU won't be a
> problem. Consequently, I've 
> opted for a software encoding/decoding solution as
> this will enable me to 
> use whatever codec I want (read: MPEG4. :)
> 
> For capture purposed, at 83$CAN, I believe the OEM
> Leadtek WinFast TV2000 
> XP is a good choice based on the facts that this
> card has the latest 
> chipset from Conexant and it seems to be supported
> by MythTV as well as 
> some other Win-based PVR solutions. Though, I wonder
> if btaudio will 
> support it. Given the cheap price tag of this card,
> I bet it won't. I'm 
> getting the OEM version of this model since I won't
> need the remote control 
> or any bundled software. So why pay the premium?
> Control will be driven by 
> that neat Logitech Keyboard/Mouse combo I also
> obtain for a bargain.
> 
> Next step is the video card. And there lies my
> question. I need a 
> low-profile AGP card. Since I've being using
> Matrox's products for years, I 
> figured that the retail version of the G550 would be
> a good choice.
> 
> Though, I've realised from reading from allot of
> sources that XVideo is not 
> supported on the TVOut head. While other solutions
> exist, like mplayer, I 
> ask: What are the consequences of not being able to
> use XVideo. Given that 
> a P4 will be driving this beast, is software
> resizing a problem?
> 
> Also, I've come across this page, stating another
> solution for this Matrox 
> TVout problem:
> 
> ----
>
http://sinex.hut.mediapoli.com/cvsview/viewcvs.cgi/*checkout*/video/knsplugin/mplayer/src/DOCS/video.html?rev=1.1
> 
> Under linux, you have two choices to get TV-out
> working:
>     * Using X 4.0.x + the HAL driver from matrox, so
> you'll get dual-head 
> support, and you'll be able to redirect second
> output to the TV. 
> Unfortunately it has Macrovision encryption enabled,
> so it will only work 
> on directly-connected TV, no through VCR. Other
> problem is that Xv doesn't 
> work on the second head. (I don't know how Windows
> solve it, maybe it swaps 
> the CRTCs between the heads, or just uses YUV
> framebuffer of second DAC 
> with some trick)
>     * Using matroxfb with dual-head support enabled
> (2.4.x kernels). You'll 
> be able to get a framebuffer console (using CRTC2,
> so it's slow), and 
> TV-out (using CRTC1, with BES support). You have to
> forget X while using 
> this kind of TV-out! :(
> ----
> 
> Thank you,
> Martin Thomas
> > _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
>
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> 


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